I Have The Gavel, So I Make The Rules

The Illinois woman, 19, was jailed Monday after a judge was offended by the t-shirt she wore to a friend's court hearing. LaPenta, wearing a black shirt with the message, "I Have The Pussy, So I Make The Rules," ran afoul of Judge Helen Rozenberg, a Circuit Court jurist who handles misdemeanor and traffic cases.

A miffed Rozenberg, 56, summoned LaPenta from the gallery, and cited her for contempt of court. The judge then immediately sentenced LaPenta to 48 hours in jail, and had her removed from the courtroom in handcuffs. LaPenta, pictured in the mug shot at left, was released yesterday from the Lake County jail after spending the night in custody. She is now reportedly considering a lawsuit over her garment-related bust.

In a May 3 court order, Rozenberg wrote that LaPenta, "displaying herself on the front row," offered "no excuse" for her apparel. In an amended order filed yesterday (presumably after she learned of media interest in the case), Rozenberg made sure to include the exact "obscene wording" found on LaPenta's shirt. (3 pages)

CLICK HERE for a gallery of other unfortunate message t-shirts worn by arrestees.

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Comments (1)

These are the type of judges that make people have contempt for the law. Granted, the shirt is in bad taste, but it's not a criminal offense. Judges that throw people in jail for merely offending them, do not deserve to sit on the bench. The judge should just had the girl removed from the gallery and told to change her shirt if she wanted to return. If I was this girl I would have resisted arrested, and demanded a jury trial! No sane jury would convict her for resisting arrest on such a charge.